


Velvet Heart

by ShionsTear



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Humor, It's spelled Ouma, M/M, Multi, No New Dangan Ronpa V3 Spoilers, No Spoilers, OT3, Plushies, Romance, Soulmates, Stuffed Toys, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-10 01:52:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12901425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShionsTear/pseuds/ShionsTear
Summary: When Saihara picks up a stuffed toy on a snowy day, he couldn't remotedly think about what events would follow. As if he was meant to walk through the Christmas market that day, he encouters two people that would soon become very special to him. Although unsure about his own feelings at first, the other two help him (more or less) overcome his insecurities. - A story about love that overcomes norms. - Happy Holidays!





	Velvet Heart

“Shuichi, don’t forget to buy the groceries on your way home!”

“I won’t, mom.” Saihara said as he put on his shoes and stepped outside. Just when he looked skywards his eyes locked on a fluffy snowflake fluttering down slowly. He was so absorbed into it that he didn’t notice how the snowflake landed in his eye. He hastily blinked a few times, looked down again and shook his head. “Cold.”

It was a snowy day in December when he decided to head to the bookstore and buy the new volume of that one crime fiction story he had been enjoying lately. Winter holidays had just started the other day and he would spend all of his free time reading detective novels and the kind. It was colder than he had expected when leaving the house, so he tightened his scarf, put on his jacket’s hood and continued on his way. When he got to the bookstore he stopped in front of the window to make sure that his object of desire was already lying on display. His eyes started sparkling as he discovered a pile of said object and he quickly entered the store. The store clerks greeted him with a smile and asked if he was there to get the new book. They already knew Saihara since he practically emptied the store by buying every single detective, crime fiction or mystery novel. He read a lot.

“Oh, uhm… y-yes.” Saihara smiled slightly embarrassed by the fact they were waiting for him. He grabbed a book from the pile, turned it around and read through the summary on the back of the book. He smiled widely and turned around to head to the counter.

“Anything else?” the salesperson asked.

“No, that’s all, thank you.” he answered and gave them the money.

“Thank you very much, please stop by again!” they bowed down.

“Thank you too, have a nice day.” Saihara grabbed the bag in which the salesperson had put the book and left the store. “Alright, groceries.” he grabbed his phone and looked at the note his mother had sent him. He memorized the note and put away his phone. It seemed to have cleared up a bit and the snow hat stopped falling. He took off his hood and continued on his shopping trip. Even though it was cold, the market street, where both the book store and the groceries store he was heading to were located, was bustling with people. Small stores were lined up next to each other on both sides while heavily decorated Christmas market stalls had been set up in the middle. Only one week was left until Christmas. Although Saihara had never had the opportunity to spend it with a special someone, he liked the seasonal holiday a lot and was happy seeing other people full of vim and vigour. But every year he asked himself why people in Japan used to celebrate Christmas as a holiday for lovers and partners. He knew that in other countries and parts of the world one would celebrate with family and friends. Of course he had already spent some Christmases with friends, but as of lately all of them seemed to have gotten a girlfriend. And his female friends didn’t want to because ‘other people might think of it as _something_ ’ they said. Saihara sighed deeply at that thought. He’d just want to spend some time with friends, he wasn’t romantically interested in them. In fact, he wasn’t romantically interested in girls in general.

“Oh dear, what a deep sigh that was!” a voice woke Saihara up from his daydream.

“Wh-what?” he said surprised. A rather short guy dressed up in a Santa’s costume was suddenly standing in front of him. He was grinning and looking at Saihara.

“Nishishi, seems like someone’s troubled by something, am I right?” the short Santa asked.

“Uhm, i-it’s… well… nothing.”

“Reeeeaaaally?” he got closer to Saihara’s face. He jumped back and tried hiding his small blush under his scarf. “A-ny-ways!” short Santa stepped back again and stretched out his hand. Saihara looked down on the flyer he was holding and read what it said.

“A charity Christmas event?”

“Yup!”

“And you’ll be part of it?”

“Yeah. You see, I robbed a bank so they’re forcing me to do this now.” he said calmly.

“What?!” Saihara’s eyes widened.

“Though that was a lie.”

“O-oh, haha… o-of course.”

“I actually robbed two banks!” he grinned. “Nah that was a lie too.”

“…I-I see.” he was confused.

“So you gonna come?

“I don’t have any special abilities or skills.”

“That’s fiiiiiine, I don’t have any either! It’s not like I’m the supreme leader of an evil organization or something.” he started laughing.

“Right, haha.”

“Or maybe I am?”

“…right.” Saihara said as he put the flyer in his bag. “I’ll think about it, okay?”

“Sure! Just come when you feel like coming!”

“Alright. Thanks.” Saihara sad and started walking again.

“Have a nice daaaaay!” the short Santa waved his arms at Saihara. “Nishishi, I wonder if he’ll come.” he giggled. “Helloooooo!” he approached more people that were passing by as Saihara disappeared into the distance.

After he finally bought everything his mother wanted, he stepped out of the store and headed home again. We went back the same way he came and as he was passing by the Christmas market stalls he looked around, trying to find the short Santa from before, but he couldn’t find him. Instead, a small something on the ground caught his attention. The sun was already setting and it had started snowing again, but nonetheless he approached the thing that was slowly getting covered in snow. He crouched down, wiped off the snow and grabbed it.

“It’s a little teddy bear.” he said to himself. He cleaned it from the snow as he stood up again and looked around. “I wonder if someone dropped it.” he turned around to see if there was someone looking for a teddy, but he didn’t find anyone. He looked back at the bear he was holding. It was slightly bigger than his hand and had white fur with a read heart on its chest. He decided to take it to the market street’s lost and found, but on the next day. He had to hurry home or his mother would get angry if she didn’t get her groceries. He put the teddy in his bag and continued on his way. He got home, handed the bag of groceries to his mother and vanished into his room. He placed the teddy on his desk and sat down on his bed. He’d spend the rest of the day reading.

He had planned to wake up early the next day, but because he wanted to finish the book before going to bed he ended up staying awake until 3am. He woke up half past eleven, jumped out of bed and rushed downstairs.

“Mom, why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Wake up? Why, are you going out again?”

“Yes, didn’t I tell you during dinner yesterday?”

“You did?”

“It… doesn’t matter. I’ll just have breakfa---brunch and head out afterwards.” he sat down at the table and started eating. Roughly half an hour later he was ready to go out. He grabbed the teddy, put it in his bag and walked downstairs.

“Have fun.” his mother said as she was cleaning the floor.

“Thanks, bye.” he said as he went outside.

When Saihara got to the market street he took the teddy bear out of his bag and held it in his hand while walking around. He thought that if the person who lost it saw it they might approach him. But neither did anyone approach him nor call out to him about it. He sighed, put the bear into his jacket’s pocket and took out his phone to look up the way to the lost and found. He memorized the way and started walking again without noticing that the teddy fell out of his pocket and onto the ground. He was about to leave it behind and head to the lost and found without it, but luckily someone picked it up and rushed after him and poked him on the back.

“Boop.”

“H-huh?” Saihara turned around and saw a familiar face. “You!”

“Yes, me!” the short Santa smiled. “You dropped something.” he stretched out his hand holding the teddy bear.

“Oh! Did I drop it? Thanks a lot.” Saihara bowed down a bit and took the teddy.

“Nishishi, didn’t think you’d be the type to walk around with his plushies.”

“Ah, no, it’s not mine. I found it on the ground yesterday and wanted to bring it to the lost and found in case someone was looking for it. Searching for the owner on the spot wouldn’t be that efficient.” he explained.

“Whoa, you’re like a detective.” short Santa’s eyes sparkled as his face got closer to Saihara.

“Maybe it’s the influence of all the novels I read.”

“Ohh, so you read detective novels?” he put his hands behind his head.

“I do, yes. And I especially like…” Saihara noticed how he had just started a conversation with someone he barely knew. “S-sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt your work.”

“Nah it’s fine, I was getting bored and thought of just running away.”

“Uhm…”

“Although that was a lie.” he grinned. “But my shift’s almost over! Care to wait some minutes and accompany me to a café? That way you can treat me to something, I’ll take that as a thanks for picking up the teddy.”

“Yes, I, uh… wait, what?” Saihara was confused.

“Awesome! I’ll go change then, just wait here!” he laughed, turned around and ran away.

“…uhm… okay.” he just stood there, waiting for the short Santa to come back. Saihara didn’t know why he stayed there instead going away, but for some reason he was intrigued.

At the same time, the short Santa arrived where he had been working until before and approached another person dressed up as a Santa.

“Hey hey, my shift’s practically over, right?” he asked.

“Well, you’re doing this voluntarily after all, I can’t really keep you any longer if you have somewhere to go, Ouma.”

“Awesome, I’ll go change then!” he said and vanished inside a market stall, changed quickly and jumped out again. “See you tomorrow then!” he waved his arms and ran back to where Saihara was still waiting. “Cool, you actually waited.”

“That was quick.”

“Nishishi.” he giggled. “Anyways, do you know any good cafés around here? Today’s my first time in this town you know.”

“Uhm…” Saihara started thinking about various places to go. “Hey, wait a sec, you were here yesterday too. Was that another one of your lies?”

“Ooops, maybe?” he smiled and Saihara sighed. “Okay okay, I’ll take you to my favourite café then.” he said and led the way. “Ohhhh, right! I forgot to ask!” he stopped suddenly and turned around.

“What?”

“What’s your name?”

“I’m… Saihara.” he said. “Saihara Shuichi.”

“My name’s Ouma Kokichi!” he smiled. “Nice to meet you, Saihara-chan!”

“Chan?!”

“Nishishi…” Ouma giggled and continued walking, Saihara following behind with a smile on his face as well, trying to understand his odd new acquaintance.

At the same time, in a café located somewhere on the market street, a green haired high school boy started his part-time job shift. He didn’t really need to have a part-time job, he came from a wealthy family with parents that didn’t mind giving him what he wanted, but he himself just liked experiencing new things. It may have been due to the fact that his family travelled around a lot, but he was very curious and liked to try out many different things. He’d normally hop from one part-time job to the other. Not because he grew bored of it or was bad at it, he just always wanted fresh wind. But oddly enough, he had stayed in that café far longer than in any other job so far. He couldn’t explain it, it just happened.

“Amami-kun, order for table 53 is here.”

“I’ll take care of it.” the green haired boy answered and grabbed the tray with the hot beverages and a piece of cake. He held the tray with a single hand, he had gotten used to his job as a waiter and was fairly good at it. “Good afternoon, dear customers. I’ve got your order.”

“Thanks!” Ouma said with a smile. “I’ll get the hot chocolate and the cake!”

“Sure, one hot chocolate with tiny marshmallows and a raspberry cheesecake with extra whipped cream for you and a simple coffee for you, I take it?” Amami smiled at Saihara.

“Ah, yes. Thank you very much.”

“No problem.”

“Ouma-kun, why again am I treating you?” Saihara asked.

“Because I found the teddy bear you found, Saihara-chan.” Ouma took a bite from his cake.

“Teddy bear?” Amami tilted his head to the side.

“Ah, yes.” Saihara grabbed the bear from his bag. “This one.” he put it on the table. “I found it on the ground yesterday and… s-sorry, suddenly starting to tell you this unimportant story must be---“

“My teddy!” Amami exclaimed suddenly.

“E-excuse me?” Saihara was surprised.

“That’s mine! I got it as a present from my little sister!”

“Really?”

“Yes, I---“

“Amami-kun!” someone called for him.

“Coming!” he turned around. “I’ll treat you to a second coffee and hot chocolate, so please stay until I finish my shift!” he said and hurried back to the counter.

“Huh.” Ouma exclaimed.

“What a coincidence.” Saihara was still slightly perplexed.

“Almost like fate.”

“F-fate?”

“Yeah.” Ouma continued eating. “Want a bite? It’s yummy.”

“N-no, thanks.”

“Aww, Saihara-chan doesn’t want to eat from my cake. He doesn’t like me, I’m sad.” he put on a sad expression and looked down.

“F-fine, but only a small bit.”

“Yay!” he was happy all of a sudden again.

“…was that a lie again?”

“Nishishi.” Ouma giggled and Saihara sighed. Time passed by and minutes turned to hours. After Amami had brought them something else to drink, they just spent the rest of the time waiting and talking about various things; getting to know each other. From time to time, Amami would stop by their table and exchange a few words before he was called back by his boss. As soon as his shift had ended, he changed into his private clothes and joined the other two.

“Phew, finally over.” he exclaimed slightly tired.

“W-well done.” Saihara said.

“Have you been working here for long?” Ouma asked.

“Not that long. Actually, I was thinking about quitting soon, but now I don’t want to any longer.” Amami smiled.

“Huh?”

“Nothing.” he continued smiling. “Oh right! About the teddy!”

“Ah, yes, you said it was yours?” Saihara took it out of his bag again.

“Yes! My little sister gave it to me yesterday and I was so sad when I didn’t find it anywhere anymore. I must’ve dropped it accidentally without noticing. I’m so glad you found it, honestly. Thank you very much.”

“I’m glad I could help you.” Saihara smiled and gave him the teddy.

“Thank you!” Amami took the plushie and looked at it. “Oh, by the way, I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I?” he cleared his throat. “My name’s Amami Rantarou.”

“Saihara.” Saihara said.

“And I’m Ouma!” Ouma grinned. “So, say, Amami-chan!”

“Chan?!”

“Why would your sister give you a teddy bear? It’s not Christmas yet.”

“Oh, you see. My parents travel around a lot and they were heading to Germany next. And they always let us decide if we wanna accompany them or not. So she wanted to give me my present earlier since I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go too or not. That’s also why I was thinking of quitting this part-time job.” Amami explained.

“I see.” Saihara nodded.

“And she told me that this was a special bear. It’s apparently from a brand called Velvet Heart. See that red heart on its chest? It’s made out of velvet.”

“How straightforward.” Ouma commented.

“She also added that Velvet Heart products are kinda famous.”

“Famous?”

“Famous for what?” Saihara was confused.

“To let you meet your soulmate.” Amami smiled.

“Ohhhhhhh!” Ouma’s eyes sparkled. “Now _this_ sounds interesting!”

“Wh-wha---“ Saihara was surprised.

“And hey, I’d say this little plushie has at least helped me meet two new people, hasn’t it?” he looked at the other two.

“Wanna come help with the charity event then too?” Ouma asked of a sudden, holding a flyer into Amami’s face.

“H-huh?” Amami asked puzzled.

And just like that, the three of them – though mostly Ouma – decided to meet up at said charity. Its date was a week before Christmas, on a Saturday. They had exchanged phone numbers in the café where Amami worked part-time on the very same evening they had first met. They created a group chat, stayed in touch, texted to each other and quickly became friends in a few days’ time. Ouma told them where they had to go and all the details they had to know about the event. It was organized by a volunteer charity organization that held various different events throughout the year. Amami had heard of the organization before, their name was HOPE. The Christmas event was held in an orphanage of the city. Ouma told the other two that they’d play games with the children, dress up as Santa and hand out presents, bake cookies together; just let the children experience a nice and warm Christmas time. HOPE was funded by citizens’ donations and because Saihara didn’t know about them before, he decided to talk about it to his parents and see if they could help them out as well.

“Everything clear?” Ouma asked after he stopped explaining.

“Yup.” Amami answered.

“So when does it start?” Saihara asked.

“In about…“ Ouma looked at his watch. “Now.”

“Ouma-kun…” Saihara sighed.

“Nishishi. Let’s go steal some orphans’ toys.”

“Sure, let’s go.”

“Ehh? You’re not saying anything to my comment?”

“Ouma-kun, that was probably another of your lies again.”

“Ehhh? How unfunny.”

“You know, I’ve only known you for a few days, but I feel like those were more than enough to get to know you. At first I always tried to figure out whether you were lying or not, and I wanted to know _when_ you were lying and when you were not. But at some point I noticed that I don’t need to do that. You and your lies just are what you’re made of. So I’ve got no choice but to accept them.” Saihara explained.

“Wow, I didn’t know Saihara-chan spent so much time thinking about me.” Ouma grinned. “That kinda makes me happy.”

“Wh-wh… n-no, I just…” he blushed and turned away.

“Nishishi.”

“Aww, does that mean you didn’t think about me?” Amami asked.

“No! I thought about you as well!” Saihara answered quickly, but realizing what he had said his face turned even redder. “C-can we just go in already?”

“Sure!” Ouma laughed and led the way.

“There there.” Amami patted Saihara’s head as he passed by. “Ouma-kun, will I have to wear a Santa outfit as well?”

“Of course, I think Amami-chan would look great as Santa!”

“Well, if you say so.” Amami started laughing. Saihara silently followed behind the other two, still embarrassed about what he blurted out before. When they reached a changing room the three of them put on a Santa outfit and grabbed one of the big white sacks that had already been prepared in advance. They were filled with presents, ready to be given to the children.

“Alright, you two wait here. I’m gonna go around and see if I can find someone to ask where we’re supposed to be going.” Ouma said and walked away. Amami and Saihara were just standing there, waiting.

“Wouldn’t have imagined I’d be doing something like this a few weeks ago.” Amami broke the silence.

“Y-yeah, me neither. But I’m sure it’s gonna be a great experience.”

“Yes, definitely. And despite everything, I always wanted to work with kids once.”

“Really?” he turned to him.

“Yes.” Amami nodded. “You see, since I’ve travelled around a lot I got to meet all kinds of people and places. In the same way, I also ended up meeting different kinds of jobs. And everything was just so unique that I wanted to try it all out. I love experiencing new things.”

“I like that about you.” Saihara said.

“Huh?”

“I like how open-minded you walk through your life, you’re ready and willing to experience new things. Compared to myself, someone who always does the same every day and every week…”

“I don’t think that’s something bad. Just like you said before, Ouma-kun is also Ouma-kun with lies. That’s just who he is. And the same goes for you. You’re Saihara-kun. What does it matter that you like spending your time reading detective novels? I like how you’re so passionate about it.” Amami smiled.

“Amami-kun…” Saihara looked down. “Thanks.”

“Say…” Amami wanted to change subjects.

“Yes?”

“Do you like, have a lover right now?”

“L-l-lover?!” Saihara was not prepared to hear such a question.

“Yes.”

“Uhm… I-I don’t have one… No.” he stuttered.

“Oh, I see.” Amami turned to him. “Then do you have someone you like at the moment?”

“M-me?”

“Yes.”

“How about you, Amami-kun?”

“Hmm… actually, yes. I think I do. Although I’m not sure about them, if they like someone. Or if they would like me back, you know?”

“I-I understand.” Saihara looked down again. “I… I see.”

“So do you or not?” Amami was persistent.

“I…” Saihara stopped for a moment. “I actually don’t know. At the moment I’m really confused in that regard, so… I can’t tell you right now, sorry. It’s not like I don’t want to tell you, I just… I _cannot_.”

“Don’t worry, I can wait.”

“Huh?”

“I-I mean, _it_ can wait.” Amami started laughing awkwardly. Saihara was confused but before he could ask him anything else, Ouma had already come back with instructions as to what to do. They spent the rest of the evening playing around with the children and handing out presents to everyone. After tidying up everything, they changed into their private clothes again and headed home tiredly. As soon as Saihara got home, he went upstairs and let himself fall down on his bed. He was about to close his eyes when his phone vibrated.

[Thanks for today!] Ouma wrote in their group chat.

[No problem.] Amami answered quickly.

[Yeah.] Saihara was too tired to answer properly.

[Hey hey, do you two have any plans for Christmas?] Ouma asked.

[I don’t.]

[Me neither.] Saihara sat up on his bed.

[Awesome, then why don’t we go out together?]

[The three of us? On Christmas?] Saihara was confused. But he didn’t want to mention that Christmas was supposed to be a festivity for couples.

[That sounds great, I’m in.] Amami replied.

[And Saihara-chan?]

[I don’t know…]

[Come onnnnnnnnn!] Ouma sent several pleading stickers along with the message.

[…fine.] Saihara sighed.

[Nishishi.]

[I can almost hear your laugh, Ouma-kun.] Amami wrote.

[I can send you a voice message if you want.]

[Don’t.]

[Fine fine. Well then I’ll text you again one of these days for more details. I’m looking forward to our group date. Nighty!] Ouma wrote and put his phone away.

[Sleep well you two.] Amami replied, stood up from his bed and headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

“…what.” Saihara said out loud as he read Ouma’s message. He didn’t know what confused him more. The message that Ouma wrote or the fact how Amami didn’t react to it in any way. But what he didn’t know either was that Ouma and Amami had been talking to each other only minutes before Ouma asked about Christmas. He had called Amami because he had something to tell him.

“Ouma-kun?” Amami answered the call.

“Amami-chan?”

“Yes?”

“I like you.” Ouma said sharply.

“…”

“And I like Saihara-chan too.”

“Well, I like you two as well and---“

“No, not like that. Not as friends.” he stopped for a moment. “I mean, yes, as friends too. But I’ve been thinking about it, and… I want to be more than friends.”

“Is this another one of your lies?”

“No, I’m being serious.”

“Yeah, I knew you weren’t lying. But why are you only telling it to me? What about Saihara-kun?”

“I knew I could just _talk_ to you about it. We could just act as if this never happened if it were to fail. Play pretend in front of Saihara-chan. But he’s not like us, he’s too kind. But that’s exactly why I like both him and you. You feel so similar to me, like you’d always understand me. But he’s so different to me, and I find myself wanting to find out more about him and be by his side to do so.” Ouma stopped for a moment again. “See, just the fact that you’re closely listening to what I’m saying is proof that you’re not like any---”

“Well…” Amami interrupted him. “I think that’s because you just said what I was thinking as well, almost word for word, may I add.”

“Then Amami-chan likes me too?”

“Yup.”

“And Saihara-chan?”

“Yup.”

“Nishishi, this is getting more interesting than I thought.”

“Ouma-kun, what are you planning?”

“Hey, how about we tease him a bit?” Amami sighed as Ouma started telling him his plan. They decided to put it into action the very same evening and texted Saihara.

Days passed and Saihara had still not fully grasped what had happened that evening. But he also didn’t dare to ask directly, he told himself he’d find out on Christmas. One the one side he was extremely nervous, but on the other side he was also really looking forward to it. Whenever he thought about it his heart started beating faster, but at the same time he was lost, not knowing to whom of his friends he was supposed to direct those feelings; or if he was supposed to direct them to either of them _at all_.

Christmas day arrived and the three of them had decided to meet up in front of the station and walk around the city to look at different Christmas markets. Saihara was the first one to arrive. He got there almost 20 minutes early because he was so nervous. Amami and Ouma arrived at almost the same time. They greeted each other and started walking in the slowly falling snow. The night sky was shining in a dim orange light and it wasn’t as cold as one might have expected.

“I’m hungry, I wanna eat something.” Ouma said suddenly. “I feel like having crepes.”

“I prefer a hot sweet potato right now.”

“Saihara-chan, which of the two do you like more?”

“H-huh?” he was caught off-guard. “Which I like more… I… I don’t know, maybe b-both?”

“Ehhh? But can you handle two at the same time?”

“Wh-what?!”

“Two snacks.” Amami said.

“R-right. Snacks. Right.” Saihara laughed weirdly.

“Nishishi, I know!” Ouma giggled. “Amami-chan and I will buy both, you wait here and when we come back you can take a bite from each.”

“Good idea, we’ll be right back, Saihara-kun.” Amami said and the two walked away. Saihara looked skywards and let out a deep sigh.

“Haahh… what am I doing?” he whispered to himself. The other two rushed back after a while, holding a crepe and a sweet potato respectively.

“Time to eat!” Ouma said and took a big bite of his crepe. “Here.” he stretched out his arm and held the crepe in front of Saihara.

“Ohh, it’s tasty.” Amami took a bite too and did the same.

“Saihara-chan, choose!” Ouma smiled. Amami was feeling bad for Saihara, but Ouma was fully enjoying it. Saihara looked at the crepe and then at the sweet potato. Then he looked into Amami’s and Ouma’s face, taking turns between those four options as if his brain was heavily trying to solve a difficult question. At last he just pushed both snacks together and took one big bite of both at the same time. Ouma started laughing because of Saihara’s unexpected reaction while Amami handed him a bottle of water because he was worried Saihara might choke on the food. After he had swallowed everything and had drank some water, his face turned red as he tried to hide behind his scarf.

“Everything okay, Saihara-kun?” Amami asked concerned.

“Y-yes, thanks.”

“Nishishi.” Ouma giggled. “Hey, let’s take some purikura pics too!”

“There’s a purikura machine on the Christmas market?” Saihara asked, having calmed down a bit again.

“Yes, I saw one when I was handing out flyers the other days. It’s that way!” Ouma pointed into its direction and started walking.

“Shall we go then too?” Amami asked.

“S-sure.” Saihara nodded and the two followed him. They got to the machine, Ouma put in some left-over change and the three of them entered the booth and closed the curtain. They posed weirdly, made faces, hugged each other; all while the machine took the pictures. Then they spent a good amount of time trying to decide on which stickers to use because each of them had different ideas. They agreed to let a coin decide who got to decorate the pictures and flipped a coin using one of Ouma’s many questionably useless apps on his phone. After they were done and the pictures were printed, they divided them equally and put them away.

“Hey, wanna go to the café?” Amami asked. “It’s getting really cold.” he said as he breathed out and one could see his breath.

“Agreed!” Ouma stretched an arm skywards.

“Is it open today?” Saihara asked.

“Yes, boss said it’s open for couples today.”

“C-couples?!”

“Don’t worry, I asked him and it’s okay. Let’s go.” Amami smiled and started walking, Ouma following behind of him. Saihara wanted to know what exactly he had asked his boss, but he only sighed and followed the other two. They arrived at the café, entered, took off their coats and sat down at their table; they always sat down at the same table, the one the three of them met for the first time. Amami grabbed something from his bag and put it on the table.

“The teddy? You were carrying it around with you all the time?” Saihara asked.

“Obviously, it’s very special to me.” Amami smiled.

“Because I’m in such a good mood I’m gonna treat you two.” Ouma grinned.

“It’s okay, I can pay myself.” Saihara sighed. “That was a lie anyways.”

“Nishishi.” he put his arms behind his head. “But tell me what you want and I’ll go get it!”

“The same as always.”

“Alright!”

“Me too.” Amami was about to sit down when he remembered something. “Oh right, I gotta talk to boss about something. I’ll accompany you, Ouma-kun.” he said and the two of them walked to the counter. Saihara rested his head on his hands as he was gazing after the two. He let his head fall down on the table and sighed deeply. He turned around and looked at the white teddy bear and its velvet heart.

“Hey.” he whispered, but the bear didn’t answer. “You’re not gonna talk to me, are you? Well what did I expect.” he sighed but continued talking. “I feel lost. I need help. I’m pretty sure I’m in love, but… it’s like I’m at a crossroads with two signs, one to the left and one to the right. The right path looks very safe, like I could rely on it without problems. And yet it’s somehow mysterious and I really wanna know more about it. On the contrary, the left path is full of uncertainties. It’s dangerous but I feel like there’s an adventure around every corner and it’d never get boring. And I can’t choose.” he stopped for a moment. “Oh my god why am I talking like this, I’ve read too many books.” he felt like tearing his hair out. He calmed down and looked back at Amami and Ouma who were already coming back.

“A teddy bear that lets you meet your soulmate, huh? I sure wish it had been more precise and told me which one of them it is.” he said almost inaudible.

“Here’s your drink, Saihara-chan!” Ouma said and put the cups on the table.

“Haahhh, nothing beats a warm drink while it’s cold outside, right Saihara-kun?” Amami smiled. Saihara took a deep breath.

“Yes, you’re right.” he smiled as well. “G-guys…”

“Hm?” Ouma and Amami said at the same time.

“I’ve got something to tell you.” he closed his eyes. “I---“

“Oh dang! Look!” Ouma exclaimed suddenly and pointed upwards. Saihara looked up and widened his eyes in surprise. “Nishishi, it’s a mistletoe!”

“Wh-wh-why is there a mistletoe above the table?! Whose idea was this?” Saihara asked fluttered.

“Oh well, guess we have to kiss each other now, huh?” Ouma grinned.

“Wh-wh-wha---“ Saihara blushed even more. “Th-then… why don’t you two kiss first, h-huh?”

“Okay!”

“Sure.” Amami smiled and slowly approached Ouma. Saihara was observing the whole scene with unbelieving eyes. And without stopping or any hesitation, Ouma and Amami kissed.

“…wha---“ Saihara was speechless, confused and weirdly aroused all at once. But before he could say something or react in any way, the other two burst out laughing.

“I’m sorry, Saihara-kun.” Amami said while laughing. “Guess we owe you an explanation.” he said and after he calmed down he explained everything to Saihara. He told him about Ouma’s idea and apologised as well.

“Nishishi, sorry for that, Saihara-chan!” Ouma grinned.

“…I can’t believe you two.” he sighed deeply. “W-wait, does that mean you two are… a… c-couple?”

“Yup!” Ouma smiled. “But we’re only about two-thirds happy at the moment.”

“I agree with Ouma-kun.” Amami nodded.

“Wh-what?”

“Saihara-chan, did you already forget? Amami-chan told you when he explained it, didn’t he? We both like you as well. So we’ll only be fully happy with you.”

“But… being in love with two people at the same time, that’s… isn’t that just weir---“

“What’s wrong with liking two people?” Ouma interrupted him, he was rather serious.

“Huh?!”

“Who decided that it’s right to love one person and wrong to love two? You shouldn’t care about what others think, do you think I do? As long as we three are happy, nothing else matters.” Ouma smiled at Saihara.

“What he said.” Amami smiled as well.

“So… it’s okay for me to like you both?” Saihara’s eyes turned slightly red and small tears started forming.

“Yup!” the other two said in unison.

“…okay.” he snuffled. “W-wait. The crepe and the sweet potato… was that also…” he looked at them, but they only smiled innocently and didn’t dare to answer. “Nevermind, I hate you both.” he stood up, wanting to go to the toilet to wash his face, but the other two were faster and stood up as well.

“We love you two!” they said and slowly approached Saihara’s face. He panicked, quickly grabbed the teddy and held in front of his face. Amami and Ouma ended up kissing the teddy’s cheeks instead of Saihara’s.

“Ehh, cheapskate.” Ouma pouted.

“Saihara-kun really hates us now.” Amami sighed.

“Geez.” Saihara rolled his eyes and quickly gave them each a peck on their cheeks. “H-happy?” he hid his embarrassed face behind his arm. Both Amami and Ouma smiled all over their faces and jumped at Saihara and all three of them fell down on the couch Saihara had been sitting on. They hit their heads on the backrest, rubbed their heads in pain and finally started laughing out loud. Suddenly, Ouma took his phone out of his pocket and quickly typed something in.

“What are you doing?” Amami asked.

“Nishishi, I changed our group chat’s name.”

“Really? _Now_?” Saihara looked at him.

“Yup!”

“So what’s it called now?” Amami was curious. Ouma giggled and showed them his phone.

“… _really?_ ” Saihara sighed.

“Ahaha, I like that.” Amami laughed. “That’s who we are after all.”

“The Velvet Heart Idiots!”

 

_The End_

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first story about an OT3 and I hope I managed to express their mutual love for each other. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Merry slightly belated Christmas and Happy Holidays! <3


End file.
